REwired

Opinion, commentary and analysis on everything that makes the U.S. housing economy tick -- not to mention the ghosts in the machine, too. Written by HW's team of editors and reporters each business day.

Blog Roll

About 2 to 3 million people is no small amount to remove from the economy, and could have disastrous consequences. A mass deportation of this kind could greatly increase the foreclosure rate, at a time when it was just getting back to pre-crisis levels. Here’s proof.

The attack lasted one hour and 15 minutes, but changed many lives forever. Here is one of many stories that happened on that fateful day. To those who served or even gave their life on Pearl Harbor day 75 years ago – we have not forgotten.

President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Ben Carson as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development brought national attention to a department that’s long been in the shadows. But before you go speculating about the future of HUD, why don’t you give this quiz I made on the history of HUD secretaries a shot? And I didn’t go easy on y’all, so good luck!

Last week, as we all waited for Ben Carson to accept Donald Trump’s initiation to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development, reactions poured in from all sides about whether HUD Secretary Ben Carson is a good idea or not. Well, now that’s officially official, reactions are no longer based on hypotheticals about Carson as a potential choice. Here’s a recap.

[Color commentary] Yesterday, I got an email from a source who asked: “If I told you at the beginning of the year you’d be writing about Pokemon and Ben Carson leading HUD, what institution would you commit me too?” Like all other semi-casual observers of market trends, I did not reply and instead, like all fellow pessimists, I chose to panic. Good news is, we're not alone.

Speaking at the Goldman financial services conference, new Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan says "there's nothing wrong with cross-selling," and sees "risk" from changing employee incentives at the retail level. So, did the new CEO of Wells just prove he learned nothing from previous CEO's ouster?

[Expert commentary] Officials do not worry so much about desperation-renters, extremely low-income households. After all, those renters have a roof over their heads. The roof may be in a crime-ridden neighborhood, in a substandard building, near failing schools - but it is a roof. So our political discourse, and our will, move on to more pressing issues. The Terwilliger Foundation calls it the “The Silent Housing Crisis.” Yet these renters need help.

Also, if we’re going to dismantle Dodd-Frank, can we really be expected to keep implementing Basel as some suggest? Perhaps so, if Mr. Trump wishes to “Make America Great Again [Just Like Sweden].” That, and more, in your Monday Morning Cup of Coffee.

Well, it’s been a few days since HousingWire reported that Ben Carson intended to accept President-elect Donald Trump’s offer to serve as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, but there’s been no official word yet. Since tweeting about the job last week, Carson’s Twitter feed has been quiet. But that hasn’t stopped reactions to Carson’s (potential) appointment at HUD from pouring in from all sides.

As the calendar ticks ever so much closer to 2017, the housing industry pushes ever so much further into the technological revolution, one that promises to reshape how the entire industry operates. We here at HousingWire, your loyal companions on this journey into the future, know that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of companies in the industry that are on the cutting edge of these exciting technological developments. We think everyone else should know that, too.

This month inHousingWire magazine

While other state and federal regulatory bodies overlap in their regulation of the mortgage industry, the very particular consumer focus of the CFPB is not duplicated by any other body. Will deregulation mean a return to the Wild West lending atmosphere that led to the financial crisis? What happens next? We asked John Socknat, partner at Ballard Spahr, to weigh in on what mortgage lenders and servicers can expect from a Trump administration.

Feature

Amid the potential new direction from the White House, Congress and regulators, leadership in our industry is more important than ever. Which is why HousingWire is proud to present the 40 winners of our 2016 Vanguard award. These leaders from all segments of the mortgage ecosphere demonstrate that our industry is more than capable of meeting the challenges that lie ahead.

Commentary

The marketplace is full of hard and private money lenders — it will come down to who can best assist investors in completing their goals, whether that be by providing quicker close times, or with more accurate valuations. With how many options there are for borrowers, lenders will need to start competing for marketshare as borrowers shop their situations to multiple lenders, leveraging the offers against each other. This process will force lenders to update their guidelines, or be forced out of the market.